Elizabeth Shelby
| title = Commanding officer | stationed = Space Station Bravo | rank = Rear Admiral, lower half | insignia1 = | spouse(s) = Mackenzie Calhoun | children = | relatives = Brian Shelby (father), Anita Shelby (mother) | actorsource = Memoryalpha | actor = Elizabeth Dennehy }} Rear Admiral Elizabeth Shelby was a human Starfleet officer. She was noted to be a highly ambitious officer, on the fast track to promotion to captaincy of a starship. In 2366, Lieutenant Commander Shelby was placed in charge of Starfleet's defensive planning for a potential Borg invasion. When the Federation colony on Jouret IV was destroyed, Shelby was dispatched to determine whether or not the Borg were responsible. Following the confirmation of a Borg presence in Federation space, she stayed aboard the to develop strategies for facing the imminent attack. ( ) Starfleet Academy Shelby came from a Starfleet family (both parents were admirals), and herself entered Starfleet Academy in 2354. While there, she was romantically involved with fellow cadet and long-time friend, Vincent Wexler. Their relationship ended during their time at the Academy, and Shelby thereafter found herself in a relationship with Wexler's roommate, Cadet Mackenzie Calhoun. Shelby and Calhoun ended their relationship after taking part of the Kobayashi Maru scenario. Shelby decided to take an extra year of Academy study and graduated in 2358. ( novel: ) Early career Shelby's first assignment out of the Academy was as an ensign onboard the . (Game: ) She served on four other ships following that assignment, and by 2366, was a full grade lieutenant serving as chief engineer of the . By this time she'd decided she wanted to move from engineering to command and was frustrated by her inability to do so. ( short story: " ") The Borg On stardate 43095.1, Shelby led the Yosemite s investigation of the loss of Science Outpost D5. Shelby was able to determine beyond doubt that the outpost had been destroyed by the Borg, giving Starfleet the first positive confirmation of their intrusion into the Alpha Quadrant. Her work on this mission resulted in her promotion to Lieutenant Commander, and transfer to Starfleet Tactical. ( short story: " ") Upon hearing that Enterprise first officer William Riker had been offered command of the , Shelby set her sights on gaining the appointment as Captain Jean-Luc Picard's new first officer. However, her fast and loose style clashed strongly with Riker's safe and by-the-book tendencies; for example, she led an unauthorized away team to Jouret's surface (hoping to get an early start on locating evidence of the Borg attack) without receiving approval from Riker first, and she went over Riker's head to propose combat strategies to Captain Picard himself. Shelby also demonstrated her keen senses when she beat Riker in a poker game by calling his bluff. Once the Borg attack came, Shelby proved herself to be an extremely capable officer. When Captain Picard was kidnapped by the Borg, she led several away teams that attempted to rescue him. When Riker was granted a temporary promotion to captain, he appointed Shelby to be his first officer despite their differences; he later noted that they made a good team. Following the destruction of the Borg cube, Shelby returned to Starfleet Command to lead the task force that would rebuild the fleet following the disastrous Battle of Wolf 359. ( ) By mid-2367, Shelby was first officer of the under Captain Morgan Korsmo. The Chekov, the Enterprise and the USS Repulse became involved in a battle between with the Borg and an ancient Doomsday machine. The Chekov was irreparably damaged in the battle though Shelby and much of the crew survived. ( novel: ) The Excalibur Shelby, Korsmo, and many of the Chekov s crew were later assigned to the in early 2368. In 2369, the Excalibur had a skirmish with a Borg scout ship, which removed a section of the ship's hull and took three crew members with it. ( short story: " ") In 2371, the Excalibur took part of a rescue of Starfleet officers William T. Riker, Deanna Troi, and Worf along with Worf's son, Alexander Rozhenko from the Romulan, Sela. ( novel: ) Also in 2371, Shelby found herself briefly promoted to the point that she outranked Jean-Luc Picard. When Picard was assigned this year to work with James T. Kirk, he took his instructions for the mission from Shelby. (Shatnerverse novel ) The Excalibur was present when the Borg attacked Earth in 2373. The Excalibur fought bravely, but in the end, she was disabled and unable to assist with the destruction of the Borg vessel. Captain Korsmo was killed in the battle. ( short story: " ") Mackenzie Calhoun Shelby remained as Excalibur first officer when, following the fall of the Thallonian Empire, command was given to her former fiancé, Captain Mackenzie Calhoun. In addition to the tension arising from their shared history, Calhoun's maverick instincts clashed with Shelby's by-the-book style, and the two were constantly at odds during the three years they served together. All this time, Shelby denied any residual feelings toward Calhoun. In early 2376, the Excalibur was destroyed in a warp core breach caused by a computer virus. The entire crew was able to escape except, presumably, for Calhoun. Only then could Shelby admit her romantic feelings for him, but she resolved to move on with her life. ( novel: ) Following the loss of the Excalibur, Shelby was promoted to captain and given command of the . While she initially hoped this new ship would provide a more by-the-book environment, Shelby found her command style had significantly influenced by her time serving with Calhoun, and that the Exeter was not a good fit for her. When the new was launched in late 2376, Shelby was reassigned as its commander, with Calhoun's old crew intact. However, at the dedication of the Excalibur-A, Mackenzie Calhoun reappeared, after having been marooned on the planet Yakaba. Calhoun immediately proposed marriage to Shelby. After punching him, Shelby accepted. They were married on the bridge of the Excalibur-A in a ceremony officiated by Captain Jean-Luc Picard. ( novel: ) Following their Starfleet wedding ceremony, Shelby and Calhoun traveled to Xenex, where Shelby underwent a series of physical and psychological trials before they could be wed under Xenexian tradition. ( short story: " ") The Trident After their return from Xenex, Shelby took command of the and was assigned to patrol Sector 221-G along with the Excalibur. In the first months of Shelby's command, the Trident participated in the Gateways crisis, battling the God-like "Beings." ( novels: , Book 6: ; ; ) Shelby was also instrumental in revealing the telepathic manipulation of the Federation by member species, the Selelvians. This revelation led to a short war between the Federation and the Selelvians, in alliance with the Tholian Assembly. Shelby and the Trident served with distinction during this brief conflict. At one point during the conflict, Shelby and Lieutenant Soleta were attacked by a group of Orion mercenaries that were working for the Selevians. Soleta incapacitated Shelby with a Vulcan nerve pinch and attacked the Orions single-handedly, nearly sacrificing her own life to save Shelby. ( novels: , , short story: " ") Admiral Shelby Following the war with the Selelvians, Shelby found herself promoted to admiral and in command of Space Station Bravo following the retirement of the stations previous commander, Admiral Frank Kittenger. ( short story " "; , novel ) In 2379, Shelby, with the cooperation of the Trident's new commander, Captain Katerina Mueller, defied orders from Admiral Edward Jellico and took the Trident to the planet Priatia following the disappearance of her husband and the Excalibur. Her actions were pivotal in defeating the extra-dimensional race known as the Teuthis, who were attempting to incite war in the New Thallonian Protectorate and destabilize the area for conquest. ( novel: ) Fan continuities Star Trek: Hidden Frontier ), ''Star Trek: Hidden Frontier.]] Commodore Elizabeth Paula Shelby (Risha Denney) is the commanding officer of the , the lead starship stationed at Deep Space 12, as well as the acting commander of the 12th Fleet. Shelby is a strong-willed, ambitious officer formerly posted at Starfleet Tactical and as first officer of the . Elizabeth Shelby grew up on Mars. Her mother, Paula, was a gifted teacher, who once taught at Starfleet Academy and her father an emotionally distant Starfleet admiral. Paula Shelby died on Mars in 2381, leaving Elizabeth deeply regretful that she had never told her mother how much she loved her. Shelby entered the Academy through the Engineering program, even though she had wanted to train as a pilot, something she would always regret not following through on. But one of her strongest subjects, despite her career choice, was Tactical Strategy. It was at the Academy she met M'k'n'z'y of Calhoun, a former Xenexian warlord, who came to be known as Mackenzie Calhoun. She had an intense relationship with him for most of their time at the Academy, essentially becoming engaged under Xenexian law before they broke up as their careers took them different ways upon graduation. Shelby served with Starfleet Tactical to head up Starfleet's defense plans against the Borg before the Battle of Wolf 359. After her temporary assignment on the , she returned as part of the task force to rebuild the fleet. She was promoted to Commander and was temporarily first officer when William T. Riker was field promoted to Captain during the Borg assault on the Federation in 2367. ( ) Afterward, she became Captain Mackenzie Calhoun's first officer. After some conflict stemming from their eventual romantic relationship, they agreed it was best for them to serve on separate starships, and Shelby transferred to the Excelsior. She became Commodore Ian Knapp's first officer when ordered by Starfleet in 2377, despite her sense of being blocked to advance to command of her own ship (Perihelion). In 2379, she was promoted to the rank of Captain as the commanding officer of the Excelsior. ("Worst Fears, Part 3") In 2384, she was promoted to Commodore and assigned to command allied forces defending Romulan space against the threat of invasion by the Archein Empire. (Star Trek: Operation Beta Shield) Following the death of Captain Korsmo and the Excalibur s destruction while facing the Borg in the Battle of Sector 001, Shelby joined the "Patriot" side of the of the Federation Civil War. After the conflict's end in 2374, Admiral William Ross promoted Shelby to captain, and she assumed command of the . In 2377, after three years aboard the Exeter, Shelby was given command of the , and oversaw her refit to specs. Many of her Exeter crew followed her to the Magellan. Two years later, Captain Shelby and the Magellan attending the re-commissioning of Deep Space 9. (PDN: "Restoration") ''Star Trek: Sutherland Elizabeth Shelby took command of the in late 2371 following her successful, yet controversial, resolution of the Mizar Crisis while she commanded the starship . ("Shakedown Cruise") She is an extremely competent and ambitious officer who loves nothing more than to use her initiative in a problem-solving situation. However, she also has a tendency towards bending, if not outright breaking, the rules in order to achieve her objectives. She also exhibits a very strong protective instinct for her ship and crew that, while admirable, could potentially lead her to take improper decisions or take inadvisable risks. While a cadet at Starfleet Academy, she met and began a long and close friendship with the then-unjoined Trill, Jadzia Idaris, maintaining their friendship after Jadzia took on the Dax symbiont, becoming Jadzia Dax. It is her off-duty behavior that sets her apart from many of her fellow Starfleet officers. Applying the same fierce zeal that she applies to her professional life to her private affairs, she leads what can best be described as an unconventional lifestyle with an attitude towards casual sex and the pursuit of pleasure that can best be described as libertine and at worst as scandalous. Her grandfather was Commodore Robert Wesley who commanded the starship . Her father and mother also served in Starfleet, with her father commanding a starship. Her relationship with her father is at best a strained one. Other than perfunctory communications, the two have not conversed at length with each other for over ten years. Her relationship with her mother, however, has recently improved. ("Messages from Earth") During the Dominion War, Captain Shelby served in numerous actions and battles. Amongst the most famous was the Battle of Caernarvon IV in which she led a task force charged with the mission of holding off an expected Dominion advance into the system while simultaneously evacuating the civilian population of Caernarvon IV to safety. She successfully completed the mission, inflicting grievous losses on the attacking fleet while suffering serious losses herself. As a result of her actions in that battle, Shelby was awarded the Starfleet Medal of Valor and the Karagite Order of Heroism. Family and personal life *Father: Phillip Shelby *Mother: Anna Shelby *Grandfather: Robert Wesley *Grandmother: Aliz Bathory Relationships *Jason Phillips - casual lover *Sandy Moore - casual lover *Ledron Davin (deceased) - former professor and mentor *Jadzia Dax - best friend *Erika Benteen - former lover and one-time rival A sexually adventurous individual, Elizabeth avoids serious romantic entanglements, preferring, as a rule, brief casual sexual relationships to long-term commitments. Memorable quotes Background *In canon Trek, Shelby was played by . *Regarding the reference to a "Captain Shelby" in ''Deep Space Nine, commented: "My intent when I wrote the line was that this was indeed the same Shelby from BOBW. I thought it was a cool reference to throw in for the fans, but I had completely forgotten that & Co. had very specifically and very politely asked us if we had any intention of ever using this character again and we (including me) had said, "No way -- do what you want with her." This very salient fact was pointed out to me after the show had aired and I had a rather sheepish conversation with over in licensing and with John via e-mail explaining what had happened. Since I only used Shelby's last name in the episode, you're free to look at this either way -- it's really her or it's someone else with the same last name (it's a big fleet, after all)." http://web.archive.org/19990128021826/www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6952/ron73.txt However, later wrote passages into a New Frontier novel explaining that there were two unrelated Shelbys in Starfleet. External links * * Category:Humans Category:Starfleet captains Category:Starfleet personnel (24th century) Category:USS Sutherland (NCC-72015) personnel Category:Starfleet commodores